Highland Park Riptide Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Situated in the Orkney archipelago in Northern Scotland, Highland Park Distillery was founded in 1798 by Magnus Eunson. The name of the distillery is derived not from the region of Scotland known as The Highlands — the Orkney islands are not a part of The Highlands — but rather from the region known as High Park, where the distillery was founded. Highland Park is an incredible longstanding whisky house, and they pride themselves on their rich Norse heritage, an essence that is reflected in their craft.

Today, over two centuries after its founding, Highland Park Distillery remains one of the few Scottish distilleries that continues to hand-turn, malt, and peat its own barley. “You have to be careful here on the malting floor,” says Eric Tait, Highland Park’s Maltman. “You find it can get a wee bit slippery underneath. I have to turn the malt every eight hours to prevent the roots getting tangled and to get it all aerated properly. The airing also helps it to grow. The malt will be on the floor for seven days, and I’m running five floors at the moment.” After malting the barley, Highland Park Distillery smokes it using peat sourced from the nearby peat bog called Hobbister Moor. The unique peat gives Highland Park Whisky its traditional malty flavors that are tempered by just a subtle touch of smoke.

Riptide was released as a part of their Single Cask series. Cask no. 5187 was distilled at Highland Park in 2005, then matured in a first-fill European oak sherry puncheon for more than 12 years, letting Orkey’s unique cool Northern climate work its magic. It was hand-selected by Whisky Maker Gordon Motion for its exceptional quality and bottled in 2018 at 131 proof, yielding a total of 568 bottles. It’s a balanced and mature single malt with notes of toffee, spice, chocolate, honey, nutmeg, and peat.

Get your bottle of this limited and highly collectible whisky today!